Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

मन्वादयः स्मृताश्चैता दत्तस्याक्षयकारिकाः । नवमी मार्गशीर्षस्य सप्तैताः संस्मरा म्यहम्

Transliteration

manvādayaḥ smṛtāścaitā dattasyākṣayakārikāḥ | navamī mārgaśīrṣasya saptaitāḥ saṃsmarā myaham

Translation

These are remembered as Manva-days and the like, making the fruit of gifts inexhaustible. I recall seven such dates, including the Navamī of Mārgaśīrṣa.

Word by Word

• manu-ādayaḥ: Manu and others (Manv-etc.)
• manu-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘manu etc.’ (ādi-समास)

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/are said
• smṛtāḥ: Predicate (Vidheyāṃśa)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; √smṛ + क्त

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• dattasya: of a gift / of giving
• dattasya: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: datta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘दान’

• akṣaya-kārikāḥ: causing imperishability
• akṣaya-kārikāḥ: Predicate adjective (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kārikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• navamī: the ninth (tithi)
• navamī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तिथि-नाम

• mārgaśīrṣasya: of Mārgaśīrṣa
• mārgaśīrṣasya: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārgaśīrṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; मास-नाम

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; (here) स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रथमा बहुवचनार्थे ‘सप्त’

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• saṃsmarāmi: I recall/remember
• saṃsmarāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-smṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa Māhātmya dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator enumerates seven ‘akṣaya’ occasions; pilgrims at Prabhāsa prepare offerings—pots of water, sesame, cloth—under a clear Mārgaśīrṣa sky near the sea-temple precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Manva-days (Manvādayaḥ)
• Akṣaya (inexhaustible merit)
• Mārgaśīrṣa Navamī
• Dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dāna is timed to sacred tithis, its merit becomes ‘akṣaya’—lasting beyond ordinary limits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement belongs to the Prabhāsa-kṣetra glorification, where holy time and holy place jointly intensify merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It recommends observing select ‘Manvādaya’ tithis (including Mārgaśīrṣa Navamī) for giving and allied rites, promising inexhaustible results.